


No Birds Sang

by naasad



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Forever Evil (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, Gen, Jason's In Shock, Mourning, Platonic Spooning, Tim's Abandonment Issues, mentioned Cassandra Cain - Freeform, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 06:29:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14207142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naasad/pseuds/naasad
Summary: Alternate ending to Forever Evil #6.





	No Birds Sang

**Author's Note:**

> The title and the excerpt Bruce tells Dick are both from Crispin and the Cross of Lead, by Avi. It's one of my favorites, and if you haven't read it, you should.
> 
> I was watching a Batfamily AMV with Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (the Pentatonix version) and That One Panel(TM) from Forever Evil showed up, and I just had to. I haven't read the comic in a long while, though, so probably some things are inaccurate.

"You... you need to go," Dick managed, so weak.

Bruce shook his head, pushing his son's hair away from his forehead. "Leave," he ordered the others.

Luthor raised an eyebrow, then nodded and herded the rest away.

"No," Dick struggled, but the timer ticked faster along with his heart rate, and he stopped. "Please don't," he whispered.

Bruce pressed a kiss to his forehead, then sat down nearby, closing his eyes as he tried to remember the bedtime story Dick liked so much. Finally, he sighed and began. "The day after my mother died, the priest and I wrapped her body in a gray shroud and carried her to the village church. Our burden was not great. In life she had been a small woman with little strength. Death made her even less.

"Her name had been Asta.

"Since our cottage was at the village fringe, the priest and I bore her remains along the narrow, rutted road that led to the cemetery. A steady, hissing rain had turned the ground to clinging mud. No birds sang. No bells tolled. The sun hid behind the dark and lowering clouds."

Dick wept.

The world turned white.

* * *

 

Tim and Jason stood in the foyer with Alfred. The Crime Syndicate had been stopped, blown to pieces with their own bomb, but they were still waiting for Bruce and Dick to check in.

Tim paced as his anxiety grew.

Eventually, the doorbell rang. The two young heroes reached for their hidden weapons as Alfred answered.

Lex Luthor stood on the doormat, but made no move to enter the manor. He acknowledged Alfred with a nod, and turned to Tim and Jason. "The bomb was attached to your brother's heartbeat. The only way to stop it was to kill him. Your father refused. He stayed with him."

"You're lying," Jason growled.

"No." Tim - Tim who had brought Bruce back from the timestream on nothing but a gut feeling - he looked devastated. "He's not lying." He sucked in a shaky breath and ran a hand through his too-long hair.

Jason shook his head.

Lex quickly excused himself.

Alfred shut the door carefully, hands shaking. "Come here, sirs," he eventually said, pulling the two close in an uncharacteristic display of affection.

"It's just us," Tim sniffled. "Damian, Dick, Bruce.... Less than a year.... It's just us and Cass left. Who's going to tell her?"

"We...." Alfred's voice wavered. "We will tell her together. And then we will get to work."

"Goddamn right," Jason snarled. He wrapped his arms more firmly around his little brother and grandfather.

Alfred pulled away, taking a moment to compose himself. "There is much to be done," he finally said. "Rest for now."

Tim shook, and when Alfred disappeared, he grabbed Jason by the sleeve. "I don't - I can't -"

"I've got you, Replacement," Jason murmured, pulling him close and making the long trek upstairs to Tim's room. He helped him into pajamas, washed his face, and tucked him in. "I'll be right back," he said before leaving to complete his own nightly routine. When he returned, Tim was curled up in the fetal position, hugging a pillow to his chest.

"It's just us," Tim repeated, voice cracking.

Jason slipped into bed behind him. "Yeah," he agreed. He waited until Tim had cried himself to sleep to let his own tears fall.

 


End file.
